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​Chinese OLED Panel Makers Increase Share to 27% of Global Market

Omdia expects Chinese companies to account for 27% of smartphone OLED panels next year, up from 15% in 2021. Samsung Display, the market leader in small- and medium-sized OLEDs,  could see its market share fall to 65% next year from 77% this year. Chinese companies caught up with Korean LCD manufacturers in a matter of years after a decade of Korea's dominance from the mid-2000s to 2016, backed by substantial financial support from Beijing. Chinese companies are moving quickly to set up large-scale production bases to churn out OLEDs. BOE is constructing a production plant for smaller OLEDs in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing. The OLED production line is set to be the largest for a single factory in China, producing 115 million panels on an annual basis. "The technological gap between Korean and Chinese companies' small-size OLED displays has narrowed," an industry official said, but Chinese OLED yields are ~2/3rd  of the Korean and they have yet to master LTPO backplanes.  "For large-size OLED displays for TVs, we estimate that Chinese players are three to four years behind in technology, but they could catch up in a year or an even shorter time span." 

Chinese firms are scouting key personnel at Korean display makers by offering significantly greater compensation to secure technology, a practice that has been going on for years. Chinese panel makers receive up to 75% in financial support from the central local governments when setting up production facilities. Local display manufacturers are calling for OLED technology to be included among the country's strategic technology sectors that receive support in R&D and facility investments. The government is currently seeking to include semiconductors, EV batteries and vaccines in these sectors receiving state support. The Korea Display Industry Association estimated that OLED revenue will grow to $39 billion by 2024 from $26 billion in 2020. LG Display claims a 7.5 % share. The market for large-sized OLED display will also rise to $7.5 billion in 2024 from $4.2 billion last year. UBI Research, puts Samsung Display’s market share on small-and-mid-sized OLEDs at 93.3% in 2018 dropping to 73% in the second quarter. Their share is projected to further dip below the 60% range next year due to the rise of LGD and Chinese companies.
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